Roberto Calasso

Roberto Calasso was born in 1941 in Florence, but studied English at the University of Rome.

In 1962, he joined Adelphi Edizioni in Milan, the distinguished Italian publishing house known for its uncompromising literary excellence. In 1999, he became the Chairman of the house.

Calasso is one of the world’s great readers and great writers. His work presents a portrait of the mind of man. “With the heroes man takes his first step beyond the necessary: into the realm of risk, defiance, shredness, deceit, art.” The Ruin of Kasch (1983) traces the birth of “the Modern” out of the collapse of the classical world. “This is the story of the passage of one world to another, from one order to another – and of the ruin of both.” The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony (1988), his synthesis of the Greek myths, received France’s most prestigious Prix Veillon in 1991 and the Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger in 1992. Ka (1996) approaches the Indian cultural tradition. “To invite the gods ruins our relationship with them but sets history in motion.”

Roberto Calasso lives in Milan.